(Yicai) Oct. 26 -- In addition to transit passengers, Turkish Airlines also wishes to attract more Chinese tourists to travel to Türkiye, the chief executive officer of the international carrier told Yicai.

"The number of Chinese citizens visiting our country peaked in 2019 at 426,344 people, but due to travel restrictions in China, it dropped to 89,515 people last year," said Bilal EKŞİ. "With China lifting restrictions this year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Türkiye increased to 114,006 people in the first seven months, equivalent to 45 percent of the level in 2019," Ekşi said, adding that with the return of group tours in August, tourism demand is predicted to further prosper.

About 80 percent of passengers on Turkish Airlines flights from China to Istanbul transfer to Europe, Africa, and even the Americas, Yicai learned. By attracting many transit passengers, Turkish Airlines can keep a high passenger load factor while maximizing profits and saving money to add more air routes.

China has been one of the most important markets for Turkish Airlines, which plans to have more flights on existing air routes and add more destinations, Ekşi pointed out, noting Chinese airlines have only a few flights to Türkiye, so Turkish Airlines hopes more Chinese airlines will add flights to Türkiye to create more opportunities for cooperation and competition.

Only four airlines fly between the Chinese mainland and Türkiye, according to the latest statistics from flight information provider Flight Master. China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines have three weekly flights each. Turkish Airlines has 21 flights a week.

"In our flight network, we previously had six destinations in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Hong Kong, and Taipei," Ekşi said. "As of now, we have resumed flight operations to all of them except Xi'an."

Turkish Airlines is one of the carriers with the most destinations worldwide, thanks to its expanding fleet and flight optimization.

In the second quarter of the year, the international airline capacity was below the level in the same period of 2019, according to aviation data provider Official Airline Guide. Turkish Airlines was one of the few carriers whose international capacity exceeded the pre-pandemic level.

"In the first eight months, our international passenger numbers increased 22.3 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, and international flight capacity increased 26.9 percent," Ekşi noted.

"One reason is that we retained all our employees during the pandemic, which allowed us to have enough manpower to meet the surge in demand when the market reopened," Ekşi explained to Yicai. "Some of our competitors may have downsized during the pandemic, so they didn't have enough staff to catch up when the market unexpectedly reopened.”

Istanbul's geographical location serves as a bridge between Asia, Europe, and Africa. With this advantage, Turkish Airlines can serve roughly half of the world's population with its narrow-body aircraft, Ekşi added.

Moreover, Turkish Airlines optimized its flight scheduling to connect more destinations in different countries.

Another key policy to attract passengers globally to transfer in Türkiye to further destinations is the Istanbul Stopover Program, which allows passengers with layovers of at least 20 hours at Istanbul Airport to receive one-to-two day free accommodations at partner hotels of Turkish Airlines, Ekşi said.

"Building upon eight consecutive profitable quarters, Turkish Airlines achieved a net profit of USD868 million in the first half of the year," according to Ekşi.

Editor: Futura Costaglione